{"id":613,"date":"2024-09-20T21:10:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T21:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/?p=613"},"modified":"2024-11-20T15:51:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T20:51:23","slug":"meet-hunter-huff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/meet-hunter-huff\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Hunter Huff"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Meet Hunter Huff<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Spotlight: Best Buddies Global Ambassador<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hunter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u201cHello everyone!<\/p>

My name is Hunter Huff, and I\u2019ve been a proud member of Best Buddies for nine years. My life before joining this organization was very challenging. It was hard for me to make friends. I had issues socially connecting, and the only times I would interact with them were at lunch, school events, birthday parties and other social gatherings. One big reason I didn\u2019t have many friends is that not everyone understood me and that I just happened to be on the Autism spectrum.<\/p>

During my sophomore year in high school, I attended a matching party for Best Buddies, and I met my best buddy. I also got to meet so many new people in that chapter. That same year, I danced all night at my first-ever Friendship Ball and enjoyed participating in the Friendship Walk. My buddy and I were able to develop a true friendship.<\/p>

Since joining this organization, my life has changed immensely. I attend the Champion of the Year Gala, activities in the Citizens program, volunteer for Best Buddies-related events such as the gala and friendship ball, serve on the Friendship Walk Committee, speak at events and other presentations, and today, I am an official Best Buddies Global Ambassador. I enjoy helping other people to learn about our incredible mission and working to make sure that people like me are included in the community. It has opened so many doors for me and allowed me to have a social life.<\/p>

Best Buddies creates opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to live out their dreams and goals. Most of all, it changes attitudes by ensuring people see me for my abilities and understand the importance of inclusion.<\/p>

No doubt, Best Buddies has made an impact on my life. It has empowered me to be a better friend and has encouraged me to inspire others like me to be part of this global movement. Never be afraid to make a name for yourself, to stand up for what is right, to be a light, to use your voice, to achieve your goals through hard work and positivity and most importantly, to know that you are loved, valued, and accepted.<\/p>

Thank you for supporting Best Buddies. You have made an impact on my life! I can\u2019t wait to see how many other people will be able to experience the power of friendship because of your efforts. My name is Hunter Huff and on behalf of our entire Best Buddies family, thank you! Go Best Buddies!\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A matched rivalry in giving. <\/br>Support Best Buddies this holiday season.<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your Support Transforms Lives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Sandy<\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Sandy\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A passionate a advocate and mother of two.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Andres\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Best Buddies Living resident and advocate for inclusion.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Fran\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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Best Buddies Global Ambassador, Board Member, Jobs participant, and talented rapper.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Lonnie\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Chicago native who works 20-30 hours a week in his dream job.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Mia & Maggie\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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A friendship that’s more than just a bond.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMeet Josh Felder\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t
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I am showing the world that my Disability is actually my \u2018Superpower\u2019.<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More \u00bb\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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My life before joining this organization was very challenging. It was hard for me to make friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-best-buddies-participants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2798,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/2798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/stateshowdown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}